Jon McBride (1943–2024), NASA astronaut and space shuttle pilot 

Jon McBride was a NASA astronaut, test pilot, and space shuttle pilot who flew the first-ever mission with seven people on board.

Ed Stone (1936–2024), scientist who led NASA’s Voyager mission

Ed Stone was a NASA scientist who led the agency’s pioneering Voyager missions and served as head of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for 10 years.

William Anders (1933–2024), astronaut who took Earthrise photo

William Anders was an astronaut who orbited the moon on Apollo 8 and took the iconic “Earthrise” photograph from space.

Thomas Stafford (1930–2024), NASA commander on mission with Soviets 

Thomas Stafford was a NASA astronaut who served as commander in the 1975 Apollo Soyuz Test Project (ASTP), the first joint mission between the U.S. and Soviet space programs.

Richard Truly (1937–2024), former astronaut who led NASA

Richard Truly was an astronaut and vice admiral in the U.S. Navy who became the first former astronaut to lead the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and was head of NASA when the famous “Pale Blue Dot” photo was captured.

Mary Cleave (1947–2023), NASA astronaut on Space Shuttle Atlantis

Mary Cleave was a NASA astronaut who went to space twice on Space Shuttle Atlantis in the 1980s.

Frank Borman (1928–2023), commander of historic Apollo 8 mission

Frank Borman was an astronaut who commanded Apollo 8, the first mission to fly around the moon. 

Ken Mattingly (1936–2023), astronaut who assisted Apollo 13 from Earth

Ken Mattingly was an aviator and astronaut who took part in three Apollo missions, including a ground role during the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission.

Hubert Reeves (1932–2023), celebrated astrophysicist and science icon 

Hubert Reeves was a Canadian astrophysicist who became a science icon thanks to his appearances on television shows and science documentaries, as well as his work discussing ecological issues. 

Karol Bobko (1937–2023), first Challenger space shuttle pilot

Karol Bobko , aerospace engineer, test pilot, and NASA astronaut, was the first person to fly three different space shuttle missions, as well as the first pilot of both the Atlantis and the ill-fated Challenger.

Evelyn Boyd Granville (1924–2023), NASA mathematician 

Evelyn Boyd Granville was a mathematician who worked with NASA to help safely send some of the first astronauts into space.

Firouz Naderi (1946–2023), NASA Mars mission director 

Firouz Naderi was a scientist with NASA who led several missions to Mars.

Walter Cunningham (1932–2023), NASA astronaut on Apollo 7

Walter Cunningham  was a NASA astronaut who flew to space on Apollo 7.

James McDivitt (1929–2022), NASA astronaut who led first U.S. spacewalk mission

James McDivitt was a NASA astronaut who commanded the Gemini 4 and Apollo 9 missions.

Michael Collins (1930–2021), NASA astronaut on Apollo 11 mission

Michael Collins was an astronaut whose most prominent journey was flying the Apollo 11 command module, the same mission that brought and Buzz Aldrin to the moon.

Rhea Hurrle Allison Woltman (1928–2021), one of the first female astronaut candidates

Rhea Hurrle Allison Woltman was a pilot who was one of the Mercury 13, the women who were tested as potential astronaut candidates in the early 1960s.

Millie Hughes-Fulford (1945–2021), first female payload specialist for NASA

Millie Hughes-Fulford was the first woman to go into space as a payload specialist, the scientists who work aboard NASA’s space missions.

Discover the legacies of the Challenger astronauts

On January 28, 1986, Americans turned on their TVs to watch the launch of Space Shuttle Challenger. The shuttle’s flight would turn out to be heartbreakingly brief before tragedy struck. Seventy-three seconds into the Challenger’s flight, the shuttle exploded. All seven astronauts on board were killed.

Chuck Yeager (1923–2020), first human to go faster than the speed of sound

Chuck Yeager was a retired U.S. Air Force brigadier general who was the first human to break the sound barrier.

Gerald Carr (1932–2020), Skylab 4 commander

Gerald Carr was an astronaut who commandedc2Skylabc24c2in 1973, the final Skylabc2mission.c2

Rene Carpenter (1928–2020), last surviving member of the Astronaut Wives Club

Rene Carpenter (first name rhymes with “seen”) was a television host and columnist who first came to public attention as the wife of Mercury 7 astronaut M. Scott Carpenter.

Alfred Worden (1932–2020), astronaut orbited the moon

Alfred “Al" Worden orbited the moon as the command pilot for Apollo 15.TheformerNASA astronaut is one of only 24 people to have flown to the moon.During the 1971 mission, Worden orbited the earth many times as astronauts James Irwin andDavid Scott walked on the moon to explore the surface. He was the first human to do a deep space spacewalk. NASA selected Worden, a military pilot,as an astronaut in 1966.

Katherine Johnson (1918–2020), NASA's “Hidden Figures” hero

Katherine Johnson was a mathematician who calculated orbital mechanics for the first crewed spaceflights for NASA. The story of her struggles as one of the African American women working as computers at NASA in the 1960s was made famous in the 2016 film “Hidden Figures,” which starred Taraji P. Henson as Johnson. Johnson’s calculations of the trajectory and launch window for Alan Shepard’s historic 1961 spaceflight were crucial to the success of the mission. She later helped calculate the trajectory for Apollo 11’s 1969 Moon landing, and she worked on the Space Shuttle program and on plans for a mission to Mars.

Chris Kraft (1924–2019), NASA’s visionary first flight director

Chris Kraft was NASA’s visionary first flight director, who guided astronauts as they orbited Earth and landed on the Moon.

Jerrie Cobb (1931–2019), NASA’s first female astronaut candidate

A lifelong advocate for women flying and traveling to outer space.

Owen Garriott (1930–2019), Skylab and space shuttle astronaut

NASA astronaut Owen Garriott spent a total of 70 days in space.

Constance Adams (2018), pioneering space architect

Named a National Geographic Emerging Explorer…

Alan Bean (1932 – 2018), Apollo astronaut walked on the Moon

Alan Bean, the NASA astronaut who became the fourth person to walk on the moon, died Saturday, May 26, 2018, in Houston after a short illness, according to the Associated Press. He was 86.

John Young (1930–2018), astronaut walked on the Moon

Legendary astronaut John Young walked on the moon and later commanded the first space shuttle flight.

Bruce McCandless (1937–2017), first astronaut to fly untethered in space

Bruce McCandless wasthe first astronaut to fly untethered in space.

Richard Gordon (1929 – 2017), Apollo 12 astronaut

Flew around the moon for the Apollo 12 mission…

Paul Weitz (1932 – 2017), astronaut piloted Skylab and commanded space shuttle

PHOENIX (AP) — Paul Weitz, a retired NASA astronaut who commanded the first flight of the space shuttle Challenger and also piloted the Skylab in the early 1970s, has died. He was 85.

American Heroes: Astronaut Laurel Clark

She was willing to put her life on the line for medicine, science, and humankind.

Eugene "Gene" Cernan (1934 - 2017), astronaut who walked on the Moon

Eugene "Gene" Cernan, the former NASA astronaut who remains the last human being to date to set foot on the surface of the moon, died Monday, Jan. 16, 2017.

John Glenn (1921 - 2016), astronaut and senator

NASA astronaut John Glenn earned everlasting fame when he becamethe first American to orbit the Earth.

Inner Lives of Men Who Walked on the Moon

Edgar D. Mitchell , Commander of Apollo 14 and the sixth man to ever walk on the moon , died on Feb. 4, 2016 at age 85. Born in 1930, he’d been interested in flying since he was a child. He became a Navy pilot before joining the astronaut corps in 1966. Apollo 14 was his only spaceflight.

Edgar Mitchell (1930 - 2016), Apollo 14 astronaut

Edgar Mitchell, Apollo 14 astronaut who was the 6th man to walk on the moon, has died in Florida, according to The Associated Press. He was 85.

Inspired by Sally Ride

Sally Ride, the first American woman in space – and also the youngest American in space – inspired generations of women.

Remembering the Columbia Seven

Ten years ago today, the world witnessed a disaster when the disintegrated on reentry after a successful mission, killing the seven astronauts aboard. It was a shocking tragedy, leaving us to mourn yet another shuttle crew as we did in 1986 after the exploded shortly after lift-off.

Neil Armstrong and NASA: One Giant Leap

First man on the moon Neil Armstrong routinely credited the thousands of scientists, technicians, and others who made his historic flight possible.

The Mad Scientist

From young “mad scientist” to NASA scientist, Newell Sanders always had lofty aspirations.

The Boy in the Bubble

To anyone under 30, David Phillip Vetter is more an idea than a person. He is a phrase in a Paul Simon song, a character in a Seinfeld episode, the subject of a PBS documentary and the inspiration for movies.

Christa McAuliffe: Teacher, Astronaut

On Jan. 28, 1986, teacher Christa McAuliffe nearly became the first civilian in space.